Rihanna follows her ex on Twitter

Rihanna has started following ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, who was charged with assault against the Barbados-born singer in 2009, on Twitter.

Brown was told to keep his distance from the Umbrella singer following the attack on her in February 2009, but the restraining order against him was relaxed earlier this year - and it seems Rihanna wants to keep in touch with the Kiss Kiss singer.

The 23-year-old, who was beaten black and blue by Brown, added him to the 384 people she follows via Twitter over the weekend.

And, after she made the first move, Brown followed suit and added her to his list of friends. According to website MediaTakeOut.com the pair privately communicated with each other at least a dozen times.

After the couple split in 2009, Brown tweeted about the break-up, telling the online world, "My heart is incomplete."

Rihanna may have forgiven Brown, but not all of her fans have been quite so understanding. Celebrity website E! Online reports that one fan even tweeted the star: "I never thought you would go back to him! You better not, it's your life but you do have [people] that look up to you. e.g. young girls."

Rihanna was unimpressed, tweeting back "It's f---in twitter, not the altar! Calm down".